One approach for coupling a pair of optical fibers involves mounting each fiber in a corresponding contact and melting the ends of the fibers to form them into lenses. The contacts are placed with their front ends abutting and the lenses slightly spaced and in alignment, to efficiently pass light from one fiber to the other. The melting of the optic fiber end can be accomplished by forming a cross-aperture near the front of the contact where an end portion of the fiber lies, and passing an electric arc through the cross-aperture, between a pair of electrodes. For rapid installation of the contact in the lens-forming equipment, it is necessary to provide a means for accurately locating the cylindrical contact along a predetermined vertical axis, and with the tip at a predetermined height relative to the electrodes.
One approach applicant has previously used is to form a vertical hole in a fixture, through which the contact can be inserted, with an O-ring along the hole that provides friction for gripping the contact to prevent it from falling. The need to insert the contact along its length through the O-ring is somewhat cumbersome, and does not result in highly precise holding of the contact. A fixture which facilitated the mounting of a contact, in a manner that allowed substantially the entire contact to remain visible throughout its mounting and permitted rapid mounting and removal, while permitting holding of the contact precisely in a predetermined position and orientation, would be of considerable value.